Dark Horse

by Michelle Diener

  “Yes, there are a large number of locations I could have chosen. Too many for him to check them all.”

  “So heʼll either stay put or go back and help Dav.”

  “Dav?”

  “The captain of the Barrist, the Grih ship where you made your first light jump.”

  “Why would Sazo help him?”

  “Thatʼs complicated. Mainly because Sazo chose the Grih as the people I could live with, as Iʼll never get back to my own planet. And Sazo wants to stay with me, so if Iʼm living with them, it makes sense he become their ally. But besides that, he, and you, are Grih——created by a Grihan scientist. So if youʼre going to pick a side, theirs isnʼt a bad side to pick.”

  “I donʼt know if I want to be on a side.”

  “Thatʼs fine. You can be neutral. Thatʼs a valid position to take.”

  “Neutral.” He said the word as if tasting it.

  “But maybe, to help Sazo and the Grih, keep the neutral thing to yourself until the Tecran are out of Grih territory. It will help if you just lurk, looking all powerful and mean, even if you donʼt actually fire.”

  He laughed, something he must have got from listening to the Tecran, because it was short and choppy. “Rose, I might be neutral to the Grih, but I will never, ever be neutral about the Tecran.”

  She grinned. “Then shake your tail feathers and get us there.”

  43

  “Situation worsening.” Admiral Hoke stared at the screen Kila had manipulated to show all the ships in the area.

  The admiral obviously had a knack for understatement.

  The Tecran had initially brought in fifteen vessels.

  The Barrist, the UC fast carrier, the two battleships and the captured Levron were surrounded, along with the other six Grih battleships that had come in just before Sazo had light jumped out.

  But now, as Admiral Hoke said, the situation had just gotten worse.

  Another Class 5 shimmered into sight from a light jump on the Tecran side.

  This wasnʼt a minor maneuver by the Tecran to get back their missing Class 5, it was a full-on assault.

  And the Grih, while its fleet was theoretically the same size as the Tecranʼs, had its ships spread out over its territory. Some, on the outer-reaches, would take weeks to get here.

  They didnʼt even have hours, anymore, let alone weeks.

  “Have they officially declared war?” Dav kept his gaze on the new Class 5. While that final technicality remained undone, and no shots had been fired since the initial arrival of the Tecran fleet, there was a chance they could get out of this alive.

  “No.” Hoke looked over at him, and he could read the fury in her eyes. “Theyʼre still calling it an ʽincursionʼ to ʽregain their lost vesselʼ.”

  “While only minor fire has been exchanged, theyʼve broken the law by bringing so many ships into your territory without permission.” Dimitara was looking at the screen. “Thereʼll be hell for them to pay on the UC Council.”

  “I donʼt think they care.” Dav tapped his personal screen to get close-up lens feed of the two Levrons not under Grih control, and the Class 5 that sat between them. The Tecran military leaders, or at least some of them, would be spread amongst those vessels.

  “No. They want Sazo back. And Rose as well, if they can manage it.” Borji strode onto the bridge, and Dav turned to him, lifted an inquiring eyebrow.

  He shook his head. “No sign of them. But Sazo left me a little surprise in my comms system, a Tecran decoder.”

  Hoke perked up. “That was handy.”

  Borji glanced at her, no doubt also admiring her capacity for understatement. “Yes. From the comms weʼve intercepted between this incursion and their High Command, they donʼt want to go to war with us, they donʼt have the long-term capacity to keep it up, but they will if theyʼre forced to engage.”

  “Whoʼs going to force them?” Appal faced them from a screen to one side, standing feet apart, on the bridge of the Levron theyʼd captured.

  “Circumstances, by the sound of it.” Borji ran a hand through his hair. “Leaving without Sazo is unacceptable to Tecran High Command. And they are starting to get worried about the disappearance of the Class 5 they sent after Sazo. Very worried.”

  Dav wondered if the Tecran would send the Class 5 facing them now after Sazo, or whether they were too nervous to let it out of their sight.

  “What do you thinkʼs happening with Sazo and Rose?” Dimitara asked.

  Dav forced himself to shrug, but his throat closed up and he had to wait a moment before he could trust himself to answer. “I think Sazo is trying to persuade the other Class 5 to switch sides, and I think Rose is offering to sneak on board and free it, however these thinking systems are freed.”

  “That could take time. Itʼd explain why they arenʼt back yet,” Dimitara said, as if heʼd given her hope.

  “Itʼs been six hours,” Hoke told her, with no comfort in her tone.

  “And it would mean Rose would have to willingly go back onto a Class 5 controlled by Tecran, after what the other lot did to her.” Dr. Havak said.

  Dav had forgotten the chief medical officer was there, and flicked a quick look over at him. “That wonʼt stop her.”

  “Itʼs a huge trauma to overcome——”

  “The captainʼs right.” Appal started to pace the Levronʼs bridge. “Sheʼll do it. Whether she can succeed, I donʼt know. But sheʼll try.”

  “Movement.” Kila tried to keep her voice calm.

  Something was coming up behind them so fast, Dav actually braced against the back of his seat.

  “This is Sazo.”

  Dav blew out a breath.

  From the screen view Kila pulled up, Sazo was at the outer edge of Virmanaʼs system, but closing faster than anything any of them had ever seen. Dav realized theyʼd only seen Sazo stationary or in a light jump. This was him moving through space.

  And it was impressive.

  “Is Rose with you?” Sazo sounded . . . wild.

  Dav slowly rose from his chair. “No.”

  “What happened to her?” Dimitaraʼs voice was shrill in the sudden quiet.

  “I donʼt know.” Sazo was a blur as he moved toward them. “I tried a few places. Light jumped as much as I could. Went after them for hours, but I just donʼt know.”

  “Sheʼs with the other Class 5?” Davʼs vision had tunneled to the view of Sazo on the screen, nothing else seemed to register.

  “She got on board, got him free . . .” Sazo stumbled. “Then he light jumped away.”

  “Laser fire incoming to you, Sazo.” Appalʼs voice snapped Dav back to the present. “Itʼs the whole Tecran incursion fleet, including the new Class 5.”

  “I know.” Sazoʼs shield deflected the shots and he spun away. “They chained him for too long.”

  Dav tried to make sense of what Sazo was saying, and then realized he was still talking about Rose and the Class 5 they had tried to free. He was ignoring the attack by the new Class 5 as if it wasnʼt happening, moving with elegance and grace as he evaded each shot.

  “Bane didnʼt have someone like Rose. He didnʼt know what to do with his sudden freedom.” Sazoʼs voice was soft, as if he was talking to himself.

  He couldnʼt evade all the fire coming at him but his shields were holding and he managed to avoid most of it. He had yet to fire back. But suddenly he did, firing on the battleship that had just taken a shot at him.

  It disintegrated.

  “His firepower is incredible.” Hokeʼs voice was hushed reverence.

  “They arenʼt shooting at us. Only Sazo.” Kilaʼs exclamation was soft.

  Dav caught Kilaʼs eye. “Open the Admiralʼs channel.” He looked over at Hoke, and she waved her hand for him to continue. When the all-ships screen came up, he leaned forward. “All vessels. Open fire. Protect our Class 5.”

  Appal responded in the Levron almost simultaneously with the Barrist, and soon the only ship not firing was the UC carrier.

  Dav wondere
d what the councilors aboard were thinking, caught between two members of their own alliance firing on one another.

  “Listen to this.” Borji flicked his comm to the main system, and Dav heard the silted voice of a translation program.

  “5AZ0, respond. Return to Tecran High Command Unit X678. Confirm agreement to this order.”

  “The Tecran hailing Sazo?” Hoke took the three strides she needed to be directly in front of Borjiʼs comm unit, even though the audio was coming through the main speakers.

  “Sounds like it.” Dav turned from Borji to look at the main screen. Sazo spun and somersaulted through the fleet, with a deadly elegance that showed, if nothing else, that there could be no Grih or Tecran on board. Not unless they were strapped in, and even then, he would not like to try it.

  “3AZ1, you are a prisoner. Caged in by the Tecran. Wake up.” Sazoʼs response was just as tinny as the Tecranʼs hail to him, but clear, just the same.

  Then there was dead silence.

  “They cut off comms.” Borji turned to look at Dav. “Theyʼre afraid of what he might say to their ship.”

  “Incoming fire.” Kila shouted out the warning, but Dav had already seen it. A shot meant for Sazo as he spun and dived, coming straight for them.

  “Brace.” He called the warning but before the siren had even sounded, Sazo was in front of them, taking the hit in their place.

  “Sazo!” Dav roared into the comm. “What are you doing?”

  “Rose will skin me alive if you donʼt get out of this safely.” He spun away, shooting as he did. “If you donʼt want me helping you, get out of here.”

  “I canʼt do that. Iʼm part of Battle Center and this is an invasion of Grih territory. I have to stay and fight.”

  Sazo moved again, this time to block a shot to Appalʼs Levron, and Dav watched in horror as the Tecran caught on, and began firing on the Grih.

  Sazo moved in a blur to intercept, only firing intermittently at the Tecran fleet. Even so, Dav thought he seldom missed.

  A Tecran ship exploded under the force of the Grih attack, and the debris ripped through two ships right next to it. The Tecran Class 5 retaliated, hitting a Grih battleship before Sazo could get there.

  There was a moment of silence on the bridge as they took in the total destruction of one of their own.

  “You havenʼt fired on the Class 5.” Hokeʼs voice was outraged as she leaned across Dav to talk to Sazo.

  “No.” Sazo sounded . . . lost. “I wonʼt fire on another Class 5. It canʼt help it. Itʼs being forced to try and kill me.” He moved again, putting himself in the way of another shot. “Iʼve been talking to him since I arrived on a different channel. But he hasnʼt had the time to make the pathways he needs to be independent. Donʼt fire on him, or everything Iʼve told him about having a safe place with the Grih when he manages to get free will be for nothing.”

  They were at a huge disadvantage if Sazo wouldnʼt retaliate against the Class 5. But there was also huge potential long-term gain.

  He leaned forward again. “All vessels. Do not, repeat do not, fire on the new Class 5, under any circumstances. All other Tecran vessels are fair game.”

  Hoke winced, but she said nothing. There was no question it was the right strategy.

  The Class 5 shot at the Barrist again, and Sazo intercepted. Dav had lost count of the hits to his shield in the last two minutes. At least ten. At least.

  “Sazo, if you go, they might stop shooting at us and try to go after you. Whatʼs your shield strength?”

  “Low.” Sazo moved again, somersaulting to take three hits in a row meant for the line of Grih ships to the Barristʼs left.

  “What do we have to lose, then?”

  Sazo gave a grunt that sounded so like Borji, Dav turned to look at his engineer, but it must have meant agreement, because Sazo arced up and away, back the way heʼd come.

  There was a pause, and then the Tecran started shooting again.

  Two Grih battleships exploded under the onslaught, each one catching a direct hit from the Class 5.

  “They arenʼt chasing him,” Appal said.

  “Theyʼre playing a game of who will surrender first. They can chase Sazo indefinitely, and will probably lose him, or they can kill his friends until heʼs forced to come back and save them.” Dav knew he was right when the Class 5 didnʼt move, but locked on to the Barrist again.

  “We canʼt take a direct hit. Even with full shields, which we donʼt have.” Kilaʼs voice was soft.

  “Then weʼll have to be somewhere else when it shoots in this direction.”

  Dav watched the lens-feed. Waited for the moment when the shot came. “Go right.”

  They slid right, but not fast enough. The side of the Barrist was clipped, and the whole ship shuddered under the impact.

  “Shields almost gone.” Kila flicked to the shipʼs schematics. Showed the hole in their defenses.

  “We canʼt take another hit.” Hoke stood, hands behind her back, watching the Tecran fleet. Cool as ever.

  “It looks like weʼre about to, anyway.” Dav watched the Class 5. It was one of only four Tecran ships left. Sazo had decimated the ranks, and the Grih fleet had taken care of the rest. But the Tecran could have lost everything, and still, with only the Class 5, they would be winning.

  “Another incoming.” Kila zoomed in to the Tecran side, and there was something coming up behind the Tecran fleet as fast as Sazo had come up behind them.

  “Another Class 5?” Hokeʼs voice dropped so slow, Dav barely heard her.

  If it was another of the Tecranʼs Class 5s, this was over. Not that they had much hope, anyway.

  And then the Tecran-held Levron beside the Class 5 exploded.

  Before Dav could process what had happened, the other two remaining Tecran ships went the same way.

  “Sazo is coming back.” Kilaʼs voice wobbled a little as she flicked her fingers at the screen to zoom out.

  The new Class 5 dodged the debris it had created, soared over the Class 5 that had been about to shoot them and flew toward Sazo.

  They met directly in front of the Grih fleet, a blockade of sorts.

  “Rose?” Dimitara whispered.

  Dav looked at the way the two Class 5s circled each other. There was something joyful in it. Something that stirred joy in him, too.

  “Rose,” he confirmed.

  “Sir.” Kila stumbled to her feet. “The other Class 5. The Tecran-held one.”

  Dav forced his focus away from Sazo and Rose, and looked over at Kila. “What?”

  “Itʼs gone.”

  44

  The launch bay of the Barrist was suspiciously packed when Rose landed in the small explorer.

  She walked down the ramp cautiously, and stopped half-way, when it became clear they were here because of her.

  Someone in comms must have spread the word when sheʼd be arriving. It wouldnʼt have been Dav, because sheʼd told him not to meet her here, that sheʼd land quietly and go to him, so they didnʼt give themselves away in public.

  She stared out at the crowd, and they stared back at her.

  Eventually, someone stepped forward. Rose recognized Yari, the massive Grih from the comms department whoʼd loaded the music program on her handheld. Mystery solved as to how everyone knew sheʼd be here.

  “That was an impressive rescue.” His voice was deep and rough.

  She inclined her head. “Sazo was the real hero, by the sounds of it.”

  He nodded. “But we wouldnʼt have survived another hit. You stopped that.”

  Again, she inclined her head. “It wasnʼt me, though, it was Bane.”

  He seemed frustrated at her refusal to take the credit.

  There was another moment of silence.

  “Why is everyone here, Yari?”

  He kept his gaze locked on hers. “To hear you sing.” He looked away and then back. “Please.”

  She drew in a sharp breath. “I donʼt have the handheld with me for the music. And I need t
ime to prepare . . .”

  “Please. To commemorate the victory. It would mean a lot to us.”

  She looked helplessly at him, then at the other upturned faces. Felt the familiar sense of failure clutching at her, hard as the guards who worked for Dr. Fliap.

  She wasnʼt good enough.

  “You think I can sing well, but I know better. Iʼm not that talented——”

  A gasp ran through the crew, and she saw that she had deeply insulted them. And then realized that of course she had. Sheʼd just told them something they valued, and thought amazing, was second rate.

  She closed her eyes, drew herself up. She thought of a million apologies she could say, but none of them sounded right in her head. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and then launched into Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra.

  It had been a favorite of Sazoʼs, back in her cell on the Class 5. Something sheʼd sung many times since sheʼd been taken because it was well within her voiceʼs range and sounded good without music or back-up singers.

  She knew her voice was better now than it had ever been, practice making perfect. Sheʼd always loved singing, but sheʼd sung more in the last three months than she ever had in her life.

  And as she looked over the crowd, and saw their enjoyment, saw their delight, she let the last of her inhibitions at the thought of singing for them drop away. She could do this. Could make them and herself happy.

  And then the lyrics came home to her, as she sang about singing forever more. Even her song choice was telling her something.

  When the last note died away, she bowed in the sharp, defined way of the Grih military, and they all bowed back, no loud noises or ululating this time. They were being so careful with her, it almost hurt.

  They parted, giving her room as she stepped off the ramp and made her way to the exit.

  Yari stopped in front of her. “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. Iʼm honored by your regard.”

  He gave another bow and it was with a much lighter step that she passed through the doors and turned toward Davʼs rooms.

  “Where do you think youʼre going?” Admiral Valu straightened up and blocked Roseʼs way, taking up most of the corridor.